spiphywarfare

Tag: low carb

  • Veg-Heavy Stir Fry

    We were talking about a dinner we’d made and the wife pointed out that this was a myth-busting meal. Whether through ignorance or malice I cannot say, but low-carb diets are often maligned as not containing enough vegetables. So, I present to you a veg-heavy stir-fry.

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    We’ve turned food preparation time into family time together. Everyone gets in on prepping the ingredients before we start cooking two batches. We’re blessed to have two wok-style pans. That way I can add a little sausage and egg into mine as well as a little extra kick. We each took what we wanted and tossed it into a pan of hot oil.

    • jalapeños
    • bell pepper
    • cabbage
    • almonds
    • mushrooms
    • snow peas
    • broccoli
    • onions
    • zucchini
    • garlic
    • water chestnuts
    • sausage
    • eggs
    • sriracha
    • assorted oils
      • olive
      • sesame
      • chili

    Myth buster. Low-carb is not low-vegetables. Secondly all of the ingredients for this, allowing about $3.00 for the oils, cost about $15.00. These two pans worked out to six individual meals. Myth two busts an excuse too, at $2.50/meal it’s hard to claim eating healthy is too expensive.

    cura ut valeas

    This article was first published on October 9, 2014 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.

  • Green Beans & Sausage

    Green Beans & Sausage

    One of the reasons I hear time and again for not eating healthy is, “I can’t afford it.” That used to be one of my personal favorites. If you think the only way to eat healthy food is to eat only locally grown, super-organic, ultra-natural whatever, then you’re right. That’s not the only way.

    You do have to be dedicated. You do have to understand that making better food choices involves effort. That’s not a bad thing because EFFORT IS FREE!

    The effort involves looking in the right places in the store when you are there. Our local Market Street has the best produce around, and a quick trip in the store netted me a meal on the cheap.

    • 9/10ths of a pound of green beans – $1.05
    • one onion – $0.31
    • one-half pound of polish sausage on sale – $0.84
    • plus about $0.50 worth of raw almonds
    • maybe $1.00 or so worth of homemade bacon
    • and about $0.10 worth of garlic

    Put everything but the sausage in a pot of water, and boil for an 1 1/2 hours or so. Heat up the sausage in the microwave or a skillet.

    Green Beans with Sausage

    This made my entire meal plus provided servings of truly excellent green beans for two others.

    This article was first published on October 5, 2014 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.

  • Low-Carb Cheese Sticks

    Low-Carb Cheese Sticks

    News flash… Brun-Uusto Cheese is delicious.

    Brunkow's Brun-Uusto with Jalapeno

    This cheese tastes great. The flavor really comes out when eaten warm. We usually cut it into cubes and pop it in the microwave for about 20 seconds.

    Tonight, we tried the Jalapeño version. Cut into sticks and dropped in a hot skillet for a few minutes, this try it served warm cheese makes a perfect low-carb cheese stick. As a matter of fact, whether low-carb or not, it makes a delicious cheese stick.

    grilled brun-uusto

    This article was first published on September 29, 2014 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.

  • Bacon Jalapeno Skiffs

    Bacon Jalapeno Skiffs

    I had a little bacon that needed using, and I wanted to try something a little bit different. So… I decided to try a different take on combining bacon, cheese, and jalapeño. I was going to call them Bacon Jalapeño Boats but calling so small a treat a boat seemed somehow inappropriate.

    I got out the KitchenAid and put the food grinder attachment on it. It took about fifteen minutes to run about a pound of bacon and half a block of sharp cheddar cheese through it to end up with a ground bacon cheese mixture.

    KitchenAid Food Grinder ground bacon cheese

    While this was being done the jalapeños were prepped. Prepping involved cutting them in half lengthwise and removing the seeds.

    jalapeno pepper halves

    The ground bacon mix had a little garlic powder and a bit of onion powder added to it. This was mixed in thoroughly and spooned in to the pepper halves. Afterwards they were cooked in an oven preheated to 375. Then they were broiled for about five minutes until the tops started to brown. I pulled them out and let them cool just a minute or two. They looked good and I had to try one. How would it taste?

    detail jalapeno skiffs

    RESULT!

    This article was first published on September 26, 2014 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.

  • Why I Don’t Use a Menu

    Why I Don’t Use a Menu

    I spend less money buying loss leaders, sales, and clearances, instead of ingredients for a set menu. For example, these hunks of meat were being placed in the quick sale bin and half off regular price.

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    These two large steaks provided protein and fats for several meals at a per meal cost that beat a meal of made of dollar menu items.

    Not only did we enjoy them as steaks, we had some steak with peppers, onions, and Havarti too. This is another way to defeat those excuses that pop so readily into our minds. I can’t afford to eat healthy.

    Steak with Peppers and Onion

    Steak with Peppers and Onion

    Horseradish Havarti Cheesesteak

    Horseradish Havarti Cheesesteak

    This article was first published on August 27, 2014 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.

  • Hurry Hungry

    Hurry Hungry

    Being in a hurry and feeling hungry can be a recipe for disaster for me as far as food choices are concerned.  I spied a recipe the other day and instantly was ready to go to a barbeque with it in hand.  I couldn’t wait for that occasion to happen before trying it, and picked up the essential ingredients. I was glad to have them on hand during my hurry hungry moment and made a quick, single serving, variation of it for lunch.

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    I can’t wait to make this again using fresh basil. I mixed a little olive oil, apple cider vinegar, minced garlic, and some Himalayan sea salt for the dressing, because I didn’t see anything at the store I wanted to use.

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    I rounded out my Hurry Hungry lunch with a perfectly ripe, salad size avocado ( 3 for $1 yippee) sprinkled with Himalayan sea salt.

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    Salad adapted from Tomato, Olive, and Fresh Mozzarella Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

    This article was first published on May 8, 2014 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.

  • Low Carb Cheese Sauce

    Low Carb Cheese Sauce

    A while back I  made George Stella’s Cauliflower “Mac” and Cheese Casserole.  It was completely yum, but it was the sauce that I knew could be used for other wonderful things.

    Like Chili Cheese Dogs

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    Tacos with Low Carb Tortillas (each tortilla is 4 net carbs)

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    Cheese Dip with Taco Meat

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    I adapt it by using only the cream and extra sharp cheddar cheese, and then use add-ins to match the dish. For example, for a Tex Mex dish I add cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, etc.

    This article was first published on May 5, 2014 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.

  • Stretching Ground Beef

    Stretching Ground Beef

    I have a love/hate relationship with ground beef. On one hand, it can be cooked up yummy and it satiates. On the other hand, if I allow myself to think about what it is, I get really grossed out. Not too long ago, I decided that ground beef for us should be of the grass fed and finished variety.

    No, we did not find long lost accounts gifted to us from Croesus.

    I made a deal with myself to pick it up once a week or so if I could stretch it out. Last week I took a one lb package that cost between $7 and $8, and made two dishes that totaled seven servings for us.

    In one skillet I browned the ground beef. In another skillet, I cooked half an onion and one carton of chopped mushrooms in butter.

    Using the same skillets I move portions around until I had half the beef and a third of the mushroom onion mix in one skillet, and half the beef and 2/3 the mushroom onion mix in the other.

    To the first one with less mushroom onions, I added a bag of cabbage (cheaper to chop your own, but I make the biggest mess chopping cabbage so the little expense is worth it to me), about half a can or 7 oz of crushed tomatoes, a little water, dried oregano, garlic powder, and black pepper (spices all to taste). I cooked it until the cabbage was tender, and then served with a sprinkling of grated parmesan.

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    To the other meat mixture, I added garlic powder, black pepper, heavy cream, and a few dashes of liquid aminos.

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    I liked the way these dishes cooked up and tasted, that I picked up the ingredients today to duplicate (I’m going to swap out the chopped cabbage for a bag of broccoli slaw) them this week.

    This article was first published on April 30, 2014 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.

  • Low Carb Parmesan Crusted Chicken

    Low Carb Parmesan Crusted Chicken

    This is an easy chicken recipe. I leave out the bread crumbs for lower carb count.

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    I seasoned half with dried basil and the other half smoked paprika.

    The basil seasoned chicken is tasty with artichokes, tomatoes, and feta.

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    This article was first published on April 22, 2014 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.

  • Low Carb Crackers & Guacamole

    Low Carb Crackers & Guacamole

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    I made the American Cheese crackers portion of this recipe. I had to decrease my oven temp to 375 degrees and start checking at 6 minutes. I advise not walking away from the oven while you bake these. They are tricky in that not enough time and your crackers will not be crisp, and too long, well, burnt. I find this to be a fine line with this recipe. I had almost burnt ones the first time and fantastic ones the second time. I skipped the salt.

    Definitely use parchment paper!

    How I like my guacamole-

    ripe avocado mashed

    minced onion and diced tomato to taste

    cumin, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and Himalayan salt to taste

    To stretch it out, I sometimes add a dollop or two of sour cream.

    This article was first published on April 17, 2014 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.